Window ventilator



May 15, 1934- E. c. cLAus 1,958,695

WINDOW VENTILATOR 1e/v5? C. CMMS May 15, 1934 E. c. CLAUS 1,958,695'

WINDIOW VENTILATOR Filed Jan. 29. 1931 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented May 15, 1934 WINDOW VENTILATOR Ernst C. Claus, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 29, 1931, Serial No. 512,006

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to a window ventilator which is to be applied to the inner side of a window, and which is readily removable for the purposes of cleaning, repairing, etc. One object of this invention is to provide a window ventilator which is neat and compact when not in use, and which may be quickly detached from a window casing and stored in a very small space when not in use. In order to carry out this invention, I provide a roller upon which the screen is mounted and mount this roller within a casing. The roller is adapted to have the screen wound thereupon and substantially completely retracts the screen within the casing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric screen member which is normally adapted to be wound upon a roller when not in use and provide means whereby the fabric screen may be detached from said roller for the purpose of cleaning the same. This is possible even when the roller is mounted in a casing, and the means which I provide is very simple and rugged.

I also provide means whereby a metal member is releasably secured to the free end of the spring,

this metal member being for the purpose of dis,

tributing the pull equally over all portions of the screen when the screen is pulled in a direction to unwind the same from a roller which in the present instance is provided with springs for rotating the same in a given direction.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of novel means for securing the various parts of the casing together, without the necessity of using a great number of fastening means for this purpose, and without the necessity of welding or otherwise permanently securing the parts to each other, it being an object of this invention to provide a simple forni of casing which is neat in appearance and at the same time readily disassembled for repairing or replacing various parts of the casing which are within the casing.

Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter as the description thereof proceeds,

the novel features and combinations being clearly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 represents an elevational view of a window viewed from the inside with a ventilator made according to my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section of my invention taken substantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of my invention with the screen thereof retracted within the casing;

Fig. 4 is a view of a metal plate adapted to be secured to one of the jambs of the window for the purpose of engaging within an opening in a metal strip on the free end of the flexible screen which acts as the Ventilating means;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of my invention taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, with parts thereof in a different position of adjustment and showing the manner in which the screen may be detached from the roller;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show the various parts which go to make up the reinforcing means for the free end of the flexible screen member;

Fig. 9 is a detailed view illustrating theV end construction for the casing; and

Fig. 10 shows the manner in which the screen member is maintained taut.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a window of ordinary construction which comprises the stool 1, apron 2, iambs 3, vstops 4 and sash 5 having the pane 6. The sash is shown raised for the purpose of permitting the entrance of fresh air or the exit of foul air. However, it has been found that by merely raising the window, a great many times the wind is so strong that while plenty of air is received within the room, the strength of the Wind blows the curtains around and also blows in a considerable amount of dust and dirt and other foreign matter. I therefore desire to provide a screen member which will more or less close this opening and prevent the wind from blowing dust and dirt particles into the room while at the same time permitting a moderate circulation of the air.

Such a Ventilating means should ordinarily be made washable as the dust and dirt accumulate on the screen Vand the contact of the curtains with the screen causes the curtains to become dirty sooner than might otherwise be expected, to say nothing of the unsightly appearance which is presented by a dirty screen or ventilator. In order to permit the screen to be properly washed, it is very desirable that it be entirely disconnected from its mounting. Furthermore the screen should be releasably mounted in such a manner that an inexperienced person may readily disconnect the screen for the purpose of washing the same. In the described embodiment of my invention, I have illustrated a fiexible fabric screen member, which, when detached from its mounting, may be put in with the family wash if desired, and laundered quickly and easily, thereby enabling the housewife to have a screen which always has a presentable appearance.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, it will be seen that the stop 4 at the left has two screws o r like headed elements 7 fastened thereto, and the opposite stop has a metal plate 8 secured thereto by means of the screws 9 which pass through suitable openings 10 therein. This plate has an angular extension 11 having a re- Versely bent hooked portion 12 for a purpose which will appear later.

The screws 7 are adapted to hold the casing for the screen. This casing is best illustrated perhaps in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 9. The side walls of the casing are formed of a single piece of metal 13 bent to the shape shown best in Fig. 2. The opposite ends of the metal portion 13 have the reversely bent portions 14 and 15 so as to present smooth surfaces to the fabric screen member and for reasons whichl will appear later. The reversely bent portion 14 also serves another purpose which will appear presently.

In Fig. 9 I have shown in isometric the construction of the end pieces for the casing and construction of the ends of the side walls which are adapted to be secured to the end portions of the casing. The end edges of the side wall are notched at 16 and 17 andthe end edge portion of the reversely bent portion 14 shown at 18 is arranged in substantially the same plane as the bottom of the recesses 16 and 17. The depths of the recesses 16 and 17 are substantially equal to twice the thickness of the metal employed for the end walls of the housing.

The ends of the casing are formed by two members which I shall refer to as the inner and outer walls. The inner wall is indicated by the reference numeral 19, and the outer wall by the reference numeral 20. Both the inner and outer walls are provided with concentric depressions 21 thereby forming bosses on the inside as is best' illustrated in Fig. 5. In the center of these bosses, I provide the openings 22 which are at at opposite sides for a purpose which will appear presently. The inner wall 19 has the portions 23 and 24 doubled back upon the body portion of the end wall, and also has the flanges 25 and 26 thereof extending at substantially right angles fromthe-body portion of' the wall. The outer wall 20 is provided with a substantially continuous flange 27 which is unbroken except between the endportions of the flange indicated by the reference numeral 28 in Fig. 9.

In assembling the end wall, I place the inner wall in such a relation with the body portion of the casing formed by the member 13, that the iiange 25 lies inside of the member 13 and the flange 26 isV also arranged within the member 13 with a portion ofthe flange 26 lying between the reversely bent portion 14 and the adjacent portion of the member 13. ward flexing of this end of the member 13, as well as the inward flexing of the same.

1 I then place the outer wall 20 over the inner wall with the flange 27 embracing the outside surfaces of the member 13. The inner dimensions of the flange 27 are such as to force the edges of the member 13 into engagement with theflanges 25 and 26 on the inner wall 19 to thereby firmly grip the edges of the member 13 between the flanges 27 and the flanges 25 and 26. This gripping eifect is sufficient to prevent normal separation of the end walls from the member 13; The reversely bent portions 23 and 24 and the reversely bent portions 14 and 15 form the edges of the opening through which the fabric screen passes into the casing as is bestvillust'rated in Fig. 2.

Within the casing I mount a roller 29 through which passes a rod 30. This rod 30 has the This prevents the out opposite ends thereof threaded at 31, and these threaded portions are flattened on opposite sides so as to fit within the openings 22 with the fiat sides of the threaded portion 31 and the flat sides of the openings 22 in engagement with each other to prevent the rod 30 from turning. A spring 32 has one end 33 thereof passing through the rod 30 and has the other end 34 thereof passing through an opening in the end wall 35 of the roller 29. The cylindrical portion of the roller has the ends thereof surrounding the bosses 21 on the inner end walls as is best illustrated in Fig. 5, thereby preventing the screen from getting between the ends of the rollers and the end walls of the casing and insures that the fabric screen will roll upon the roller rather than get between the ends of the roller and the casing.

To the outer surface of the cylindrical roller 29, I secure a pair of flexible members 36, these members having the ends 37 secured to the roller between opposite over-lapping end portions of the cylindrical piece of metal which forms the roller 29 as is best illustrated in Fig. 2, the parts being held in this position by riveting, soldering, or the like.

The free ends of the members 36 are provided with T-heads 38 and openings 39. The members 36 are drawn out of the casing, and nails 40 or similar members inserted in each of the openings 39, which nails straddle the edges of the opening through which the screen extends. This holds the T-heads 38 outside of the casing.

The screen itself is formed of fabric in the form of a net so that the air may circulate therethrough. This net is indicated by the reference numeral 41, and the upper and lower edges thereof are reinforced by the binding strips 42, which are stitched to the net 41. At one end of the net I provide a hem 43 formed by doubling back the net and the binding strips and sewing the same'by the line of stitching indicated by the reference numeral 44 in Fig. 5. I next slit the hem transversely as at 45, and

at distances along the hem corresponding tol the distance between the centers of the members 36. The heads 38 of the members 36 are rst inserted in the slits and then into the portions of the hem on opposite sides of the slits as is clearly indicated in Fig. 5. This forms a releasable connection for connecting the screen with the members 36.

The opposite end of the screen is also formed with a hem 46 into which I insert the tapered wooden rod 47 with the smallest portion of the taper pointing toward the opposite end of the screen. I next take a metal member 48 which is substantially U-shaped in cross-section and which has the opposite walls thereof inclined toward each other to correspond to the taper on ther wooden rod 47. I place the rod 43 over the outside of the hem 46 by sliding the same over the hem in a direction longitudinally thereof or from top to bottom, or from bottom to top in Fig. 6. The metal member 48 is sufficiently Vstrong so that the opposite free ends thereof will not spread when a pull is exerted on the member 48 to the right as viewed in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2. At least they are not permitted to spread sufliciently to pass over the wooden rod 47 which is arranged within the hem. It will be seen that with this construction the metal member 48 and rod 47 may be quickly detached from the screen thereby permitting the screen to be washed when desired. Y

As is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the member 48 is provided with an opening 49 which is adapted to receive the reversely bent hooked portion 12 on the metal strip 9 so as to prevent movement of the member 48 to the left. The member 48 is also provided with a slot 50 which is adapted to receive one end of the handle 51. This end of the handle 51 and the oppositely projecting portions 52 form a T-head on the handle 5l Within the space enclosed by the meniber 48 and this prevents the movement of the handle out of the slot when a pull is exerted thereon. This form of connection permits the handle 5l to pivot a limited amount to better enable one to exert a pull on the member 48. On the other hand, the handle may be collapsed into the dotted line position shown for that handle at the left in Fig. 2 when the handle is not being used for pulling the screen out of the casing.

The casing is provided with slots 53 which are enlarged at the opposite ends for the purpose of receiving the heads of the screws or like headed members '7. For instance when it is desired to attach the casing to the stop 4, the heads of the screws '7 are inserted in the lovvermost enlarged portions of the slots shown in Fig. 3 and the casing is then moved downwardly to position the Shanks of the screws Within the narrovi.7 portions of the slot, the heads of the screws abutting against the inner surface of the casing and being too large to pass through the reduced portions of the slots 53. The screws are placed at a height such that the shanks Will be within the narrow portions of the slots when the bottom of the casing rests on the stool 1. The slots are enlarged at both ends to enable the casing to be attached to either the right or left hand jamb. To support the casing on the right hand jamb in Fig. 1, the casing is turned end for end and the part 8 is attached to the left hand jamb.

The operation of my device is as follows: After the casing is positioned in the manner described in the previous paragraph, the handle 51 is grasped and moved toward the right, thereby unrolling the screen from the roller 29 against the action of the spring 32. The hook 12 is arranged Within the opening 49 to hold the metal member 48 in position and to prevent retraction of the screen Within the casing. It will be noted that I provide but a single hook 12 thereby permitting the member 48 to rock slightly about the hook 12 as a pivot so that in the event that either the upper or lower edge oi' the screen is slightly longer than the other, both edges of the screen will be held equally taut as is best illustrated in Fig. 10. When the screen is retracted within the casing, the metal member 48 fits within the recess between the opposite ends of the member 13, this recess being shaped substantially the same as the member 48 so that the out-er surface of the member 48 will lie substantially flush with the outer surface of the casing as is illustrated in Fig. 2 by dotted lines.

When it is desired to clean the screen, the same may be detached from the members 36 and the members 48 and 4'7 may be removed from the hem 45 thereby leaving the fabric screen entirely unencumbered by anything but fabric parts. After Washing the screen may be quickly replaced.

By supporting only the upper and lower edges of the screen, the same will roll and unroll on the roller 29 much easier than the same would if secured to the roller or along the length thereof. Furthermore, the entire strain is placed on the upper and lower reinforced edges 42, and the net portion 41 does not have to stand any of the strain exerted on the screen by the spring 32.

As will be noted in Fig. 2, the portions 14 and 15 which are turned back against the adjacent portions of the member 13 are formed this manner so as to present smooth edges against which the screen travels when moving into and out of the casing. I

It will be noted also that the end portion 54 of the member 13 extends freely into the casing and acts as a resilient means for moving the screen toward the wall or" the casing which lies closest to the sash, thereby insuring that the screen will be held in close proximity to the sash when the same is in extended position outside of the casing.

Other changes and modifications may be made in my invention Without departing from the spirit thereof, and therefore I do not wish to limit my invention except as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described an embodiment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United 4States is:

1. In a window ventilator, the combination with a screen member, of a rotatable member upon which said screen is Wound when desired, and a hook on one of said members engageable Within a loop on the other of said members for rendering said screen quickly detachable from said rotatable member.

2. In a ventilator, the combination with a roller, of a screen adapted to be wound upon said roller, a hem at one end of said screen, said hem having a slit therein, and a member on said roller having a T-shaped head insertable in said slit so that the T-shaped head may be arranged Within said hem With portions thereof engaging the hem on opposite sides of said slit.

3. A ventilator comprising a. iiexible screen having a hemat one end thereof, a member arranged Within said hem, and a member arranged outside said hem partially surrounding said first member, said second member being releasable by movement of the same in the direction of said hem but being prevented from relative movement transversely to said hem by said first member.

4. In a Window ventilator, the combination with a housing, of a roller within said housing, a exible screen having one end thereof secured to said roller, a spring for rotating said roller to Wind said screen on said roller, said housing having an opening therein through which said screen extends, said opening communicating With an enlarged recess from Within the outer surface of said housing below the outer confines thereof, and a rigid member at the other end of said flexible screen adapted to lie substantially wholly Within said enlarged recess when said screen is Wound about said roller, said rigid member having an operating handle thereon collapsible into compacted position closely against said housing when said rigid member is Within said recess.

5. In a casing of the class described, the combination with a member forming the side walls of said casing, of one end Wall for said casing comprising a pair of superimposed members hav" ing portions spaced from each other adapted to receive portions of the edges of said side Walls therebetween and grip said edges to hold said members in place.

6. A casing construction of the class described comprising a pair of members each having peripheral flanges, said members being arranged in spaced substantially parallel relation with each other to form one end wall, and a member to be joined to said first members having an edge thereof arranged in the space between said flanges and grippingly engaged thereby.

7. In a ventilator, the combination with a iiexible screen, of a roller upon which said screen is to be wound, a plurality of reinforcing strips secured to said screen and extending substantially in the direction in which the pull is exerted on said screen to unwind the same from said roller, and fastening means for connecting the ends of said reinforcing strips to said roller, said screen being unconnected to said roller except by said fastening means which connects the ends of said reinforcing strips to said roller.

8. In a window ventilator, the combination with a housing, of a roller within said housing, means for rotating said roller in one direction, a flexible screen having one end thereof secured to'said roller, a V-shaped depression in said housing, the opposite end of said screen having a hem therein, a rigid V-shaped member arranged within said hem, a V-shaped member embracing the outside of said hem, and said V-shaped member within said hem, an operating member. on said outer V-shaped member, said housing having an opening therein at the bottom of said V-shaped depression through which said screen passes into said housing, and said outer V-shaped member being of a size to substantially nt within said V-shaped depression and substantially entirely below the outer surface of said casing.

9. In a casing for screens having side walls and end Walls, the end walls being separate yfrom each other and from the side walls, and means for holding said end walls and side walls in cooperating relation with each other comprising pairs of members forming each end wall, flanges extending from the periphery of each of said members, said flanges lying on opposite sides of the edges of said side walls to frictionally grip the edges of said side walls.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9 in which a roller is arranged within said casing and a pivot is provided for said roller extending through both ends of said casing and in which a fastening means is provided exteriorly of said casing on the ends of said pivot to hold said ends of said casing in position against movement out of operative position with the side walls of the casing.

l1. In a window ventilator, the combination with a housing, of a roller within said housing, a flexible screen having a releasable connection with said roller, a spring for rotating said roller to wind said screen on said roller, an opening in said housing through which said screen extends, said releasable connection comprising cooperating means on said flexible screen and roller adapted to extend partially without said casing when said screen is in one position of adjustment to permit said screen to be removed therefrom without removing said roller from said casing, said opening communicating with an enlarged recess formed within the outer surface of said housing below the outer confines thereof, and a rigid member at the other end of said flexible screen adapted to lie substantially wholly within said enlarged recess when said screen is wound about said roller, said rigid member having an operating handle thereon collapsible into compacted position against said housing when said rigid member is within said recess.

12. In a ventilator of the class described having a housing for a screen member having an opening therein through which said screen member may extend, the combination with a flexible screen member, of a member normally inside of said housing and urging said first member into said housing, and a releasable connection between said members movable from a position within said housing wherein it is inaccessible to aA position outside of said housing where it is accessible, said connection having means selectively adapted to cooperate with a manually actuated holding member when the screen member is at a position where said releasable connection is accessible, whereby a manually actuated holding member may be used to cooperate with said means to prevent said second member from retracting said first member into said housing and hold said releasable connection in an accessible position, whereby said iirst and second members may be separated by releasing the connection therebetween.

13. A ventilator of the class described having a casing with an opening therein comprising a roller within said casing, a spring for rotating said roller in one direction, flexible elements each secured at one end to said roller, the other ends of said exible elements having means adapted to be used as one part of a connection between said flexible elements and a screen, said elements having their free ends movable to either a position outside said casing or a position within said casing and having means associated therewith adapted to cooperate wth a holding member when said free ends are outside said casing, whereby said elements may be held by said holding member outside of said casing whereby a screen may be attached to or detached from said exible elements.

14. A ventilator of the class described having a casing with an opening therein comprising a roller within said casing, a spring for rotating said roller in one direction, flexible elements each secured at one end to said roller, the other ends of said flexible elements having means adapted to be used as one part of a connection between said flexible elements and a screen, said elements having their free ends movable to either a position outside said casing or a position Within said casing and having means associated therewith adapted to cooperate with a holding member when said free ends are outside said casing,

whereby said elements may be held by said hold- "c ing member outside of said casing, whereby a screen may be attached to or detached from said exible elements, said means which is adapted to cooperate with said holding member comprising abutment shoulders on said flexible elements formed by openings through said flexible elements, portions of the flexible elements being movable to a position outside of said casing to expose said openings at an accessible position to receive a holding member, whereby holding members may be inserted in said opening to prevent the retraction of said flexible elements into said casing.

ERNST C. CLAUS.

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